California Seniors Reported $1.4 Billion in Scam Losses Last Year. Here's Where It Went.

Every year the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center publishes what people reported to it. The 2025 report came out this spring, and one number stands out for anyone who lives here: Californians 60 and older reported $1,403,975,911 in losses. That is more than any other state, and nearly double Florida's $709,823,172.

Two honest caveats before we go on. These are reported cases, and federal officials have said that most elder fraud is never reported, so the real totals are probably higher. And the report breaks results out by state, not by county, so we can't give you an Orange County figure.

The big picture, in plain English

• Nationwide, people 60 and older reported $7.748 billion in losses, up 59% from 2024.
• They filed 201,266 complaints, up 37%.
• The average reported loss was $38,500, and 12,444 people lost more than $100,000.
• California led all states with 22,157 complaints from people 60 and older.

Where the money went

Here are the biggest categories for people 60 and older, ranked by dollars lost.

1. Investment scams: $3.52 billion. By far the largest category. Many involve cryptocurrency and fake trading platforms. The common thread is a stranger, a promise of easy returns, and pressure to put in more.
2. Tech support scams: $1.04 billion. The fake virus pop-up, or the "fraud department" call. This one ranks second for dollars and second for number of complaints (21,333). It is also the category where knowing your own devices helps most. We cover it in what to do in the first 5 minutes.
3. Romance and confidence scams: $584 million. A friendship that moves fast, then a request for money. 10,188 complaints.
4. Government impersonation: $413 million. Someone claims to be an agency and says you owe money or are in trouble.

Business email compromise, a business payments scam, also ranked in the top five at $568 million, so we left it out of the list. By sheer count, the most common complaint was phishing and spoofing, the fake text or email that looks like your bank or a delivery company: 48,064 complaints.

The voice clone call: small in dollars, big in fear

Now the scam that gets everyone talking. The FBI counted 3,143 complaints from people 60 and older that involved AI, with $352,496,231 in losses. AI shows up inside many kinds of fraud, including fake investment videos, so that is not a voice clone total. For "distress" scams, the family emergency calls, the report puts losses across all ages at just over $5 million.

That is small next to $7.7 billion, and we would rather tell you that than scare you. The call still deserves a plan. It is the one scam that borrows the voice of someone you love, and it is built to make you act before you think. A short family conversation shuts it down. We walk through it in our post on AI voice cloning and the family code word.

Crypto kiosks: the fast lane

People 60 and older filed 6,188 complaints involving crypto kiosks, the "Bitcoin ATMs" often found in convenience stores and gas stations, with reported losses of $257,466,130. California caps what a customer can put through a kiosk at $1,000 per day, according to the state's Department of Financial Protection and Innovation.

Our rule is simpler. No bank, agency, company or family member needs you to pay through a crypto kiosk. If someone sends you to one, stop and call someone you trust.

Three habits that cover almost all of it

1. Slow down. Every scam above needs you to act fast. Urgency is the tell, and a real emergency will still be there in five minutes.
2. Check on your own channel. Hang up, then call back on a number you already have saved, or ask another family member. Never use a number the caller or a pop-up gave you.
3. Never pay with gift cards, cryptocurrency, a crypto kiosk, a wire transfer or a payment app. The FTC lists these as the ways scammers ask to be paid in fake emergencies. If you are being pushed toward one of them, that is a reason to stop.

If you already sent money

Act quickly, and don't be ashamed. These scams are run by professionals, and sharp people get caught. Call your bank or card company first. Then report it to the FBI at ic3.gov, to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov, and to the National Elder Fraud Hotline at 1-833-372-8311, a free Justice Department service for people 60 and older. The Justice Department says hotline staff can help you file an FBI report, and that a report has the potential to freeze funds, though that can't be guaranteed.

If passwords or devices were involved too, start with our hacked device recovery plan.

Where we fit in

We are not a fraud agency, and we can't get money back. What we can do is sit down with your family, in person, and make the habits above stick: set up the code word, show you what a fake pop-up or text looks like on your own phone and computer, and make sure everyone knows who to call first. See how a visit works.

Sources

• FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center, 2025 IC3 Annual Report (elder fraud section, state tables, AI and crypto kiosk figures)
• FBI, Cryptocurrency and AI Scams Bilk Americans of Billions
• FTC, Scammers use fake emergencies to steal your money
• California DFPI, Court upholds daily transaction limit for crypto kiosks
• U.S. Department of Justice COPS Office, National Elder Fraud Hotline
• CBS News, Criminal schemes targeting U.S. seniors (on how much elder fraud goes unreported)

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